Undershorts of various types are known which are worn beneath an outer garment for protecting the outer garment from being soiled or stained by urinary or fecal discharge or residue. Men's undershorts come in two basic styles, a jockey style or a brief style. Both of these men's undershorts typically have a fly at the front for protrusion of the penis during urination. Women's undershorts or panties are similar in many respects, although the fly may be absent from women's undershorts.
There are numerous medical conditions in which unwanted urinary or fecal discharges can take place. For example, colitis is a condition in which diarrhea like fecal discharges often occur. Such discharges can quickly and severely soil the undershorts. If such undershorts are not quickly changed, the soiling will spread to the outer garments that cover the undershorts. Since a change of undershorts is not always possible, as when the wearer is away from home, the unintended soiling of the undershorts and the outer garments is a distinct and unfortunate possibility.
The soiling of one's undershorts and outer garments has various disadvantages. One is the embarrassment that results if the soiling becomes visible to others while the wearer is in public. Another is the need to frequently clean the undershorts and outer garments that have become stained. Often, the staining is so severe that cleaning cannot remove the stains, requiring that the soiled items be thrown away and replaced. This is obviously expensive and to be avoided if possible.
Various types of removable liners have been proposed for use inside undershorts to catch or absorb unintended urinary or fecal discharges before they soil or stain the undershorts. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,821,196 to Spiro and 3,088,462 to Muto show two examples of such liners.
However, known liners for undershorts have various difficulties. Often, they only cover small areas of the undershorts. Thus, if the unintended urinary or fecal discharge happens to reach an area of the undershorts not covered by the liners, soiling or staining will still occur. In addition, known liners are not directly attached to the crotch area of the undershorts. This leaves open the possibility that the bodily discharges can leak around the sides of the liners in the crotch area and again reach the undergarment to soil or stain it. Thus, there is a need for a more secure and extensive liner to better protect the undershorts, and hence the outer garments covering the undershorts, from staining or soiling.